Three Weeks in May

Three Weeks in May: Speaking Out On Rape, A Political Art Piece was an extended work of performance art and activism by Suzanne Lacy. The piece took place in Los Angeles, California from May 8 to May 24, 1977.

Lacy designed Three Weeks in May in collaboration with artists Leslie Labowitz, Jill Soderholm, Melissa Hoffman and Barbara Cohen. It was sponsored by the Woman's Building and Studio Watts Workshop. Lacy designed the expanded performance to be a "simultaneous juxtaposition of art and non-art activities within an extended time frame, taking place within the context of popular culture." Lacy had a background in the anti-rape movement. The artists employed a mass media performance as a means to make social change through art with Lacy crediting the theories of her former CalArts professor Allan Kaprow, who coined the term "happening", with informing her art's transition to the public sphere. Media was integral to the performance structure of Three Weeks, both as a means to create a public dialogue about rape and a way to bring disparate non-violence organizations and ideologies together on a common issue. The media was engaged through press conferences, television programs, and radio talk shows.

The City Mall Shopping Center was chosen as the site of an installation piece due to its proximity to Los Angeles City Hall. Two 25-foot maps of the greater Los Angeles Area were used for Three Weeks. On one of the maps, every day Lacy used a large red "RAPE" stamp to mark locations where rapes from the previous day had been reported. Reports were taken from the Los Angeles Police Department, who assigned an information officer to work with Lacy. The second map included rape hotlines and the locations of rape crisis centers.

Labowitz organized a performance series addressing rape that was held at lunchtime in the underground City Mall Shopping Center for four consecutive days. She collaborated with different groups for the performances. The Rape was developed in collaboration with Women against Rape, Men against Rape. All Men Are Potential Rapists included two men from the Los Angeles Men's Collective. The performances Myths about Rape and Women Fight Back were done with the help of Woman's Building members.

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